Random Ramsdom: To rest or not to rest, that is the question

Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 1/4/25

The Los Angeles Rams will not be playing all of their starters in their upcoming matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. L.A. is doing this because they already have a playoff spot locked up, and they are not in contention for the top seed. Are the Rams right to not play all their expected starters in their final regular season game?

You can check out our Reverse Q and A on the subject here!

A benefit to choosing rest, is that it can allow some players to heal up for their guaranteed playoff bout. A reason to play their key players is to keep everyone in rhythm.

I think my answer is this: If the Rams win their opening playoff round then resting the starters was a great move, if L.A. loses then there will be plenty of room to speculate what could’ve been had the Rams not rested their starters.

Resting players or not resting players may ultimately not impact their playoff game at all. Is there correlation to success or failure of teams when they rest or don’t rest their players for a “meaningless” regular season game prior to entering postseason?

I don’t know. What we do know if the Rams are in. I guess we’ll just have to go from there.

In meantime, have a great Saturday, comment on whatever you want and thanks for checking out Turf Show Times!

Rams to sit Nacua, Kupp, Kyren, 3 O-linemen alongside Stafford in regular-season finale vs. Seattle (lmtonline.com)

“Coach Sean McVay said Friday that the Rams (10-6) will rest receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, running back Kyren Williams and offensive linemen Alaric Jackson, Kevin Dotson and Rob Havenstein on Sunday. Los Angeles clinched the NFC West title last week.

“What I think is great about it is it will give us an opportunity to evaluate some guys that have done a really good job,” McVay said. “We’ll get a chance to see some other offensive linemen play that we’re excited about. We’ll get a chance to see those receivers work with Jimmy. (Rookie running back) Blake Corum will hopefully get a good workload. Look forward to seeing (third-string running back) Cody Schrader do some different things.”

Seahawks at Rams: Predictions, picks, odds for NFL Week 18 game (usatoday)

“After a sluggish 1-4 start to their campaign, the Los Angeles Rams surged in the second half of the season, securing an NFC West championship and a spot in the NFL playoffs for the sixth time in eight years.

They laid the rest of their division in the dust along the way, and that included the Seattle Seahawks. Although the Pacific Northwest birds will second in the NFC West, this season feels like a bit of a disappointment. They’ve missed the playoffs three years in a row, and eventually, they’re going to have to move on from quarterback Geno Smith. Perhaps they can take some of that disappointment out on their divisional foes, even if it won’t affect the standings.

Here are our experts’ predictions for this NFC West matchup.”

How Time in a Different Role Has Benefitted Rams’ Jimmy Garoppolo (ktla.com)

“The Los Angeles Rams have one of the most durable starting quarterbacks in the National Football League in veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. Not only does Stafford rarely miss games for any reason, he also plays well enough to never get benched for poor play.

This makes Stafford a valuable asset for the Rams coaching staff and their group of quarterbacks. However, it leaves little room for the quarterbacks behind him to get much playing time.

Still, veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has plenty of high-level experience around the NFL. His career has spanned many years as a starting quarterback that has reached a Super Bowl and a backup quarterback to Tom Brady for many years before that.”